2009 Ford F-150 Adventure: Part Two

You might as well have brought me into the Holy Land, because this is about as sacred to us Ford Fans. This is the facility where they conduct all the R&D and testing before vehicles even make it to the production line. The facility consists of acres upon acres of different driving conditions: High Speed test tracks, Off Road, Fire Testing, Accelerated Durability, Handling, Towing, etc.; you name the condition, and they have an area devoted to its testing and development.

The F-150 has been put through its paces from concept through production, along with an impressive several million mile road testing across the country in all of the elements.

As part of my special media launch, we were invited to test the new F-150 against the competition: Toyota’s Tundra, Chevrolet’s Silverado, Dodge’s Ram. Ford set up 4 of their testing sites for us to drive not only the new F-150, but also each of the competition’s vehicles.

Accelerated Durability.

The first course we tested on was called Silver Creek 2, the accelerated durability course. The test event consists of a strip of what looked like river rocks that you hit doing 30 mph, and a washboard section to test the truck’s handling and its durability over the harsh conditions.

We first watched a demo of the grueling Silver Creek 1 by one of the professional drivers. The course is so punishing that drivers can only attempt the course 4 times in a work day because of the physical beatings taken. Videos played before the demo showed the F-150 along side of each of the competitors. Its amazing what the films showed in slow motion: the amount of frame and body flex in the beds, the movement laterally by the axles bouncing, the handling and control (or lack thereof) in each truck.

My first test vehicle on this event was the Toyota Tundra. The amount of flex in the C-style frame versus Ford’s Boxed Frame is very noticeable in the course. The whole truck was difficult to control, and performed the worst of this test. My 2nd vehicle was the Silverado. Though it did not handle as smooth as the F-150, it was at least in control and not as severe in frame vibration and flexing. Driving the F-150, you can tell the amount of refinement that went into the truck helps immensely in driver comfort through such a test, as well as its very controlled, straight on track handling of the conditions. Leaving off with the Dodge, who challenges the tried and true leaf-spring suspension with coil springs, it is surprising the lack of control in the situation. Ford 150 takes the win here, with Dodge Ram getting the low grade.

Handling.

Round two of testing brought us to the autocrossing segment, where we took the trucks, each carrying an 800lb. payload, through a specific course that testing cornering, maneuvering, and overall handling under load. In this round, the steering telemetry and handling response were the key items under scrutiny. Ford’s F-150 has great road response and steering feel, and with the addition of traction control found standard on most autos today, it keeps you out of trouble. The solid frame and the hearty suspension make the F-150 a strong player, though the versatility in packages does have some effects between the different models in terms of overall handling. Coming in a distant last was the Silverado, whose steering just was not comfortable at all and took corners very sloppily. The Ram was respectable, and the Tundra, though nothing impressive, didn’t sit so out of place here either.

Towing.

For the towing event, each truck was hooked up to a 20 ft. enclosed trailer weighing in at 8,000 lbs (the limit of the Ram’s towing capacity). The F-150 boasts 11,300lb. towing capacity, so this was light work for the trucks. The F-150 shines in the towing arena. It is the only model in the group that features integrated trailer braking, with a smart system that senses required brake pressure for the speeds. Gone are the trailer ball/hitching effect, the F-150 tows with such finesse, that its easy to forget you have a trailer behind you. Power bands delivered via the 6 speed transmission are right on target, with excellent ratios to not only pull the load with confidence, but maintain in uphill grades. Engine braking is very intuitive, with downshifting occurring on call from a light touch of the brake pedal. The integrated system also utilizes a unique algorithm to factor in on board anti-sway of the trailer, and also includes a rear view camera with motion sensor tracking and trailer hitch locator. Excellent addition to aid the weekend towers. The camera is viewed via the on board computer for those equipped, and will appear in a special rear view mirror for those who opted not to have the on-board computer.

The Dodge Ram, though its larger Hemi was strong initially, the gear ratios in the transmission make the Hemi struggle upon shifting into 2nd gear on the incline. Shift points are sloppy, with hunting and searching as it downshifts at inopportune times. The Tundra did not seem to have a sweet spot in the braking pedal at all for engine braking. The worst of the bunch came courtesy of the Silverado, whose finicky steering was again problematic especially in the handling while towing.

Off-Road.

They definitely saved the best for last, as we were able to take the Ford F-150 FX4 models out onto the offroad event (apparently, they couldn’t torture the competition, so for this event, the FX4 was the only vehicle tested.) Being that offroading has become one of my favorite pass times, I was excited. My ride along engineer, quickly picked up on my desire to really experience the truck, so we pushed the envelope on the routes selected through the mud. Its impressive ability to handle everything we threw at it really made this more than just a factory trim package. The new F-150 is a functional off road vehicle. The only complaint was that going through some of the really dense mud, while you are powering through, if the rev-limiter is touched from wheel speed, it automatically arms the traction control, instantly killing power and thereby getting us stuck. Other than that, the truck is a dream.

All bias aside, it is clear why Ford is leader in the class on the light duty pickup with F-150. It outshines its competitors not only in utility and safety, but also in refinement and durability. The 2009 has been nicknamed the “Toughest Truck” as a progression from the previous models of “tough” and “tougher”. Its easy to see why Ford enthusiasts are loyal to their trucks. Driving the competition against the truck, you could really see its strengths, I only wish they offered these testing events nearby dealerships, so you could really make an informed decision before you buy.

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